Before the Herd
by Jarene
Summary: A little start with Shira's childhood, but this story'll be about her in Gutt's crew.
1. Chapter 1: The beginning

**Chapter 1: The beginning**

"Come on, you can do it!" - said a male saber.  
"Says who?" - said Shira.

Then, the saber pushed her by that slope with about 20 meters high, falling into the sea so deep, and her, so helpless.

**Shira's Perspective.**

_Flashback_

"Her name will be Shira" - said the silver female saber, kissing her new cub.

"Mildred, she looks so bad" - said the strong male beside her. - "Look at her eyes. They're so beautiful as mine, but they're so glassy. Her nose is imperfectly. Oh, and look! She has got stripes." - said him. - "From who she inherited them?"

"Maybe from you?" - she laughed. - "Honey, she's just a cub, she'll be more pretty in time."

* * *

Although, my dad didn't had so much hopes. I don't believe he wished me as his daughter.

* * *

I fell in the water, without knowing how to swim. I could have died, of course all wanted me to die. Mi mother died when I had 7 moons for age, and my father never took care of me. In fact, when my mother gave me birth, 3 moons after, he left us for other female in the same pack. Shamelessness, uh? Since that, I was the kitty one in the pack. Momma's kitty. When she died, I grown up like a normal tigress, but it's seen that my kitty-reputation was more strong that the present. The other tigresses from my age, soon they remembered me that. They approaching very challenging, they used to pushed me and tell me that I was useless. Four tigresses against me. One.

They used to remember me about my screamer past, my mom's death, my dad's shamelessness, and all that causes together for none saber date with me.

One day, I fought with one of the female sabers. I just got tired of it. I was the most hated tigress, and I used to talk with anybody. When our leader came to intervene, he scolded me a lot, but he did not listened my arguments on defensive. Finally, I decided to leave, didn't even have to defend myself.

* * *

Before I leave, I begged my father to leave with me, despite our distant 'closeness'. His excuse was that his couple was now pregnant from other cub, so he must 'protect' her, no leave her. If the poor female saber had known that he was going to leave her in some time too.

Tigresses from my age smiled at me with satisfaction that my life was a full mess. The pushed me at a precipice that only was a snow mound, but the fall hurt anyway.

Time passed and I met another male saber that was my friend, but I understood that maybe he doesn't want me in that purpose. He was cruel, and I noticed this when he led me to that slope.

* * *

_Flashback_

"Shira, look at that" - said him, before I approached.

(I clarify: two days ago we were discussing for nothing, and more than one occasion, he started to put violent. Of course I wasn't a kitty anymore, then I could defend myself. I feigned interest, and I approached. I would do anything to be OK with my 'friend' and don't be hurt. He was my only known, who I had relatively OK, except the last three days.)

"I bet you that you will not jump there below." - he challenged me.

I looked down. The sea was furious, of course, a snow storm was coming. I never learned how to swim.

"Tell me what you want, I will do." - I said. - "I will not jump."

In less than five minutes, I was trapped into the waves, unable to breathe, and the only thing I saw before I faint, was a huge iceberg browsing to me.


	2. Chapter 2: Meet the crew

**Chapter 2: Meet the crew.**

**Shira's Perspective.**

I opened my eyes, and I saw very fuzzy, and when my view saw with clarity, I saw a nose sniffing on me. It was Dobson, you all know him, and he smelled nasty! Suddenly, I heard a voice that boomed in all my brain. As being a tigress, my ears listen ten times more than the other animals. It was a monkey. It was frightening.

* * *

**Normal Perspective.**

"Welcome aboard" - Gutt shouted. - "Welcome to MY crew."

"What?" - Shira asked, lost.

Everyone in the ship watched the tigress trying to get up on the ice, slipping and some dazed.

"Where I am?" - She said.

"Captain Gutt, at your services. You're in my ship."

"Hey, he saved your life!" - Raz said. - "About die drown!"

"I was in the sea?" - Shira asked.

Everyone less her, laughed.

"At least do you remember your name?" - Gutt joked.

"Shira" - She said.

"Shira! You're now part of my crew!"

She growled in protest.

"What are you getting?"

"Well you owe me your life, to start." - He said, looking his claws. - "And you can't swim. You can't escape from here." - laughed.

"So, it's not fair!" - She shouted in defense. - "I didn't get here because I wanted! Take me to the continent again!"

Gutt turned away, going to watch his ocean, while the others were doing their ship chores.

"Eh!" - Shira shouted.

"Quiet." - Squint said. - "You'll learn to be happy here." - He said, laughing sarcastically.

"And who are YOU 'rabbit'?" - She growled.

"Hey hey hey! Carefully. Don't speak like that to the Captain's first mate."

"First _what_?"

"Just obey! Or bullfight with Captain's claws!"

Shira's face turned concerned, ducking her ears and contemplating the captain, at distance. She grumbled and looked the rabbit. He looked her, challenging and his nostril started to move in a sweet way, but he was really angry. Shira couldn't contain her laugh.

"HA!" - laughed, falling on the ice. - "That IS really funny!". - She said.

But he pointed to Shira's head with a bone 'knife', that, judging by Shira, it was sharp. She looked at that object, terrified.

"I take my job very seriously." - he smiled evilly. - "Now go! Tomorrow you'll start with your pirate chores."

"Pirate?"

But Squink had already gone. Shira withdrew, embittered, at the other side of the ship, looking at large distance, her continent. A tear lowered from her cheek.


	3. Chapter 3: New pirate

**Chapter 3: New pirate.**

The morning after, as Squint ordered her, Shira started her ship-chores. Now she was a pirat.

* * *

**Shira's POV:**

I woke up on the same place the day before: contemplating at the continent, but now it was lost at the horizon. However, I did not woke up by myself, it was a shrill voice and not threatening. Squint.

When he shouted on my ear, I startled, because, as I said, I listen ten times more than any living thing. When I got up completely, I growled showing my teeth, crouching to eat him.

* * *

** Normal POV:**

"Be careful with what you're doing, kitty!" - Squint said, pointing Shira again with the same bone-knife.

At that words, Shira pounced on him, remembering that heavy teasing from her pack.

"Don't call me kitty." - And her snout approached on him showing more her teeth.

Fright, Squint used his knife in defense, without seeing where he pointed, when he touched a cartilage, that was Shira's. The tigress roared for pain, stepping aside, covering her right ear with her paw. Blood drops were falling from there.

"You, idiot!" - She cried in pain, but anger was consumed in her mind. - "You'll see." - She bellowed.

Shira launched on race to get Squint, when the rabbit jumped on Gutt's shoulder, who, angry, turned away and shouted:

"Enough!" - and he hit the ice.

Shira stopped, slipping, terrified about captain's expression, apart that all crewers stopped to look at her.

"I... I'm sorry, captain." - She sighed. - "Your first mate bothered me."

"Who, him?" - He noted Squint. - "Haha no, no, I don't believe it."

"Captain, he did this to me!" - She said, noting her ear. - "I don't know how to do to stop it."

"Ah, simple". - Raz said, who came jumping.

She was brought two strange little, flat bones with strange colors to be bones. With violence, she held Shira's head, and with strength but without careful, she put that bones in her scars as earrings.

"Hey, be careful!" - Shira complained.

When Raz let her go, Shira examined her ear, and passed one finger between the bones.

"And what is suppose to be?" - She said. - "It hurts!"

"Now, it'll stop bleeding." - Raz smiled. - "You're welcome, mate." - and she had gone.

"But I must coexist with this the rest of my life?"

"If you pluck them, they'll start bleeding again, it'll have no case!" - Squint laughed with mood.

"Depart, you did enough!" - She growled.

"How did you talk to me?" - Squint whispered, angry.

"Ash" - She retired to continue doing her chores.

At night, Shira was ready to sleep when Flynn pushed her with his fatness.

"Hey, what's up with you?" - She said with nuisance.

"I'm sorry, orders." - He said, gently.

"Which orders?"

"The crew must sleep inside."

"And inside is?"

"There" - He said noting the ice.

Shira looked, stunned, that huge ice 'cave', so she dodged Flynn for walk to Gutt.

"Captain, can you do an exception, don't you?" - She said.

"What?" - He growled.

"You see, I..." - She tried swallow her nervousness. - "I never had slept in the ice."

Everyone exactly, started to laugh. Shira crouched her ears, distressed, because she didn't know why they were laughing.

"Aw" - Squint sighed sweetly. - "The sweetness little girl has cold!" - He became serious. - "We're on the Ice age, mature!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a girlie, and whatever you want, but don't-remember-it-to-me." - Shira said growling. - "I don't need you saying thins I know, and first, I don't need listen to you."

She gave them her back, and went to lie at the same place. Gutt approached to her in strides and growling, when he hit the ice again with strength, breaking it a bit.

"Obey!" - He shouted.

With sadness, Shira passed him walking, crouched because she felt scared. She followed the crew, who entered in the ice cave.

* * *

**Shira's POV:**

All were sleeping separated, but I slept more far away, I didn't know them and I wanted to sleep totally separated, specially away from that rabbit and that nasty pork. My life were a mess, tigresses were right. I left a pack where I was treated badly, I joined a violent saber and now I was forced to be a pirate, and I wasn't accepted. They all were unknown, and I was away from my truly home. I hoped not having to roam the sea forever.

When I had slept deeply, I dreamed a very strange dream: I was happy as a pirate. I was everyone's friend, specially Gutt's, until all that happiness (my new true home), was interrupted by a family. I did not distinguished them well, but I hated them. But something weird happened: I started to hate Gutt and the others, because one guy told me about a family, not a pack. I left with them, and when I did it, I started to feel satisfied and cheerful. Was they my birth family?


End file.
